Performances

Anne Sofie von Otter

Grammy award-winning mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter is one of today's most recorded artists with an unrivalled discography built across a career spanning more than three decades at the very top of her profession. A lengthy and exclusive relationship with Deutsche Grammophon produced a wealth of acclaimed recordings as well as a collaboration with pop legend Elvis Costello on “For the Stars”. Her first recording with Naïve Classique, “Love Songs”, with renowned jazz pianist Brad Mehldau was released in 2010 and her double CD, “Douce France”, received a Grammy Award in 2015 for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

Anne Sofie von Otter was considered the superlative Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier) of her generation appearing in the role at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra national de Paris, and at The Metropolitan Opera. She recorded the role on CD with Bernard Haitink and the Staatskapelle Dresden and on DVD (DG) with Wiener Staatsoper under the late Carlos Kleiber. Other recorded highlights from her earlier operatic repertoire include “Le nozze di Figaro” under James Levine, “Idomeneo”, “La clemenza di Tito”, “Alceste” and “Orfeo ed Euridice” under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Handel’s “Ariodante”, “Hercules” and “Giulio Cesare” under Marc Minkowski and “Ariadne auf Naxos” under the late Giuseppe Sinopoli.

An ever-evolving repertoire has played a key role in sustaining Anne Sofie von Otter's international reputation as an operatic force. Recent roles have included Leocadia Begbick (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny) at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden under Marc Wigglesworth, Cornelia (Giulio Cesare) at the Salzburger Festspiele under Giovanni Antonini (available on DVD), Geneviève (Pelléas et Mélisande) under Philippe Jordan for Opéra national de Paris (available on DVD), and Countess Geschwitz in Christoph Marthaler’s production of “Lulu”at Staatsoper Hamburg under Kent Nagano. She appeared as Jenny (Die Dreigroschenoper) at Theater an der Wien and as Waltraute (Die Götterdämmerung) at both Deutsche Oper Berlin and Wiener Staatsoper under Sir Simon Rattle. She created the role of Leonore in the world premiere of Thomas Adès’ “The Exterminating Angel” at the Salzburger Festspiele and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, conducted by the composer.

A busy concert schedule takes Anne Sofie von Otter to all corners of the world where recent appearances have included the Boston, Washington’s National and Swedish Radio symphony orchestras, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. She appeared with Jonas Kaufmann and the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by the late Claudio Abbado, for a televised performance of “Das Lied von der Erde” on the 100th anniversary of Mahler’s death, and she appeared with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Hannu Lintu performing specially commissioned arrangements of Sibelius songs on the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

This season Anne Sofie von Otter continues her collaboration with trailblazing string quartet, Brooklyn Rider, presenting music from their Naïve recording “So many things”. Other season highlights include: Mme de Croissy (Dialogues des Carmelites) at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées; she creates the leading role in the world premiere of Sebastian Fagerlund's “Höstsonaten” based on the iconic Ingmar Bergman film; and she collaborates with Barrie Kosky and Komische Oper Berlin on a special project with the title “Ich wollt ich wär ein Huhn”.